CELEB COUPLES LEND MOJO TO ADS
It works so well, say film and ad veterans, when the campaigns are aligned with the stars’ lives
That Virushka is a couple is no secret — there have been public appearances, and social media photos. But it’s only with a brand new ad campaign that the world sees cricketer Virat Kohli and actor Anushka Sharma gaze into each other’s eyes. Their clothes, the usual Indian wedding season finery, make it look even more intimate; the word ‘engaged’ sort of floats in the air. Fans are thrilled — views of the ad have touched 4 million.
Celeb couple mojo always comes in handy when selling products. Actors Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover have been in a condom ad; actors Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa have done it for a furniture brand. It’s a clever idea, says filmmaker-writer Pritish Nandy, because “ads are contextual”. He says, “If there’s an inherent logic to the ad, people would like to see [well] known couples out there. In the case of Manyavar and Mohey, who have two separate brands for men and women, it’s perfectly valid for Anushka and Virat to do it together. For Playgard, it made sense to have Bipasha and Karan, as it deals with condoms, and they’re married. Rajkummar and Patralekhaa plan to get married [so] they’d be looking for a flat, and furniture for it.”
In other words, their lives are just like ours, or aligned with ours, only much more desirable — and that rubs off on the product.
Filmmaker and former ad professional R Balki suggests that more than fame, it’s the concept that’s important. “It works beautifully if the couple is used right, with the right idea. [Otherwise] just roping in celebrity couples wouldn’t be enough,” he says.
Vivek Das Chaudhary, who made the Pepperfry ad with Rajkummar and Patralekhaa, says that “freshness in casting” is a big deal for ads, and “when people know about a real-life couple, it becomes more believable, and it generates curiosity”.
Prasad Naik, director of the Bipasha-Karan ad and the print campaign with ViratAnushka, says that when a young couple does something that feels “natural and so believable”, it makes the job easier for a creative team.
EVEN MORE THAN HOW FAMOUS A COUPLE IS, IT’S THE AD CONCEPT THAT MATTERS, SAYS BALKI